Dual-hopper apparatus for filling containers



Feb. 24, 1959 s. MAGNA ET AL 2,874,737

DUAL-HOPPER APPARATUS FQR FILLING CONTAINERS Filed May 1 1957 r 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Carton Place/nan! Sta lion 26 //v VENTORS PETER s. MAGNA and WILL/AM E. McCORM/CK their Attorney.

Feb. 24, 1959 P. s. MAGNA ET AL 2,874,737

DUAL-HOPPER APPARATUS FOR FILLING CONTAINERS Filed May 1, 1957 s Sheets-Shet s INVENTORS PETER 5. MAG'NA and WILL/AM E. MCCORMICK Byf AW A9 A4623 7, their Aj/pmey.

States Patent DUAL-HOPPER APPARATUS FOR FILLING h CONTAINERS Peter's. Magna, Pittsburg,"andWilliarn E. McCormick,

Concord, Califi, assignors toUnited States Steel "Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application May 1, 1957, Setial No. 656,460 4 Claims. 3 (Cl. 141-263) I The present invention relates generally to apparatus for packaging articles in containers and more particularly to an improved container-fillingguide especially suitable "for use in packaging nails and similar articles. I In highspeed automatic carton packaging of nails it necessary to utilize a guide or funnel inserted in the top of the carton to properly control the flow of nails being dumped into the carton during the filling stage so that high speed operations can be maintained.

In one type of rnodern.nail packaging apparatus a turntable supports a plurality of carton-loading units adjacent its periphery. Each of these units includes a base adapted to support a nail carton, afunnel or guide supported on the base for movement into and outof the open top of the carton, and'a hopper having a retractible spout for dumping nails into the funnel or guide. An "example of this type of equipment is described and claimed in Warner application Serial No. 601,140, filed "July 31, 1956. In the operation of this type of nail packaging equipment empty cartons are loaded onto each -'base "at one station adjacent the turntable and the funnel or guide is lowered into the carton. The turntable is "revolved to advance each unit to a loading station where a-'predeterrn'ined quantity of nails are dumped into the hopper of the unit. Then asthe turntable revolves the fcarton is vibrated as the nails are dumped into the car- 'ton from the hopper through the funnel. When the loaded carton reaches the first station again, the funnel or guide is lifted ont of the carton and the carton is "pushed off ontoa conveyor for delivery'toanother location for sealing and tyin'g in order to achieve optimum efficiency and a power litter is provided adjacent the "carton-placement station of the apparatus for lowering and raising the funnel or'g'uide assembly. The funnel "or guide is lifted to a minimum height above the base as fafilled'carton is pushed therefrom and an empty one "put in its place so'that as little time as possible will be required for this operation. Asa result the bottom of the funnel or guide 'just clears the top-of thecarton when "the ffunnel or guide is in lifted position.

serious disadvantage inherent 'inthe'type of equip- "inent just described is caused by thetendeney' of the hiails tofrequently pile up the top of the carton. -of'nails piled up above the top of the carto'n'are scraped oif of the carton and spill onto the turntable when the 'loaded carton is pushed out from under the'funnel or gui e. l It is accordingly, an object of the inventionto eliminate the disadvantage just'described by pr'ovidingatwo stage panama-finer guide apparatus including two nested pep ers adapted'to be inserted in theopen top of a container for guidingarticles thereinto and to 'be removed in the funnel or guide'above When this happens the mound 'ffroinfthefilled-container in a' mariner whereby the lowermost hopper is not removed from the filled container until the uppermost hopperhas been lifted "a predetermined.dis,tance.- 1 f I It is'anetherob'ectof'the invention "to provide a two stage container-filler;guiderapparatus as-set forth above in which a fin-insert is removably disposed in the upper- 'most hopper for-spreading-and proindting the alignment [ti f-articles: being "dumped into thebo'n'tainer through the ThbppetsI r 1 shown in Figure l. I packaging machineor of the power lifter are notipertinent 'lifter necessary to a complete under the periphery thereof.

oneedge of the pair of spaced vertical 2 ,874,737 Patented Feb. 24,

ice

These and other objects will become-more apparent after referring'to the following specification and attached drawings, in which: I

Figure 1 is a plan view of a rotary nail packaging inachine having the apparatus of the invention incorporated therein; 7

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of the invention in raised position;

Figure 3 1s a view similar to'Figu're 2 showing-the apparatus of the invention in lowered position;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the. secondary hopper of the apparatus of the invention;

Figure 5 is a plan view of'the primary hopper of the apparatus of the invention;

Figure 6 is a plan 'view of the fin-insert of the invention;

Figure 7 is a side elevational view partly in section of the fin-insert of Figure 6; and t Figure 8 is a'vertical sectional view showing the hoppersand fin-insert of the invention in nested position.

Referring more particularly to the drawings reference numeral 2 designates generally the device of the invention which for purposes of illustration will be-described and shown as used in conjunction with a rotary nail packaging machine, indicated generally at 4, of the type disclosed and claimed in the aforementioned Warner application, and a power lifter, designated generally by reference numeral 6, of the type disclosed and claimed in 'Prenk application Serial No. 580,309, filed April 24, 1956. The power lifter 6 is disposed adjacent to the packaging machine 4 at the carton placement station, as The specific details of the nail to the present invention, and therefore, descriptiona'of only those elements of the packaging machineandpower standing of the present invention willbe'in'cluded herein. a i

The nail packaging machine 4 includes a rotary plate or'table 8 which supports a plurality of the two stage container-filler assemblies of the invention spaced'about All of the co'ntainer'asseinblies a carton or container C. A pair -of guide rods 12 project upwardlyadjacent base plateanda sleeve 14 is'telescopedon each of the rods 12 for supporting a primary hopper 16.

spaced vertical 'Hoppe'r 16 isattached to 'the'up'per ends of the-sleeves by meansof a bracket 18. A lift plate 20 whereby the sleeves 14 maybe raised by -thepower litter is connected with and extends between the sleeves at a point intermediate their ends. Lift plate 'gaged by the 20 is adapted to beenretractible lifting bar-22 of the-powerlifter 6 to raise the lower sleeves 14 on the rods 12 to thereby raise and lower hopper-16 in relation to a carton supported onthe baseltl. A flange 24 projects laterally from the edge of the hopper 16-opp0site .to the bracket 18 and supports a depending lift rod-26 the function of which will become apparent hereinafter.

A second 'hopper 28 is disposed below and, is dirne'nsioned to nestingly receive the-primary hopper 16. A guide rods 30 :projectupwardly from the base 10spaced fromand-parallel with the pair of guide rods 12. .A sleeve 32is s'lidably telescoped on eachof the rods 30 for supporting secondary"hopper. 28

forverticalmovement. The hopper 28 is connected with the upper ends of the sleeves 32 by means of a bracket 34 which projects from the'edge"'of*hopperw28 and extends outwardly and. is welded to or otherwise z-rigidly connected with sleeves 32; A flange --35-'is :pr'ovided'between the sleeves '32 and has seamen- 11016 36' forac'coinmodating the lift rod 26 which depends froinprir'nary We claim:

hopper 16 and passes through the flange 35. The bottom portion of rod 26 is threaded for carrying a stop member in the form of a lock nut 38 having a diameter greater than the diameter of hole 36. The nut 38 is adapted to engage the undersurface of flange 35 to lift secondary hopper 28 as the primary hopper is being lifted after the primary hopper has been raised a predetermined distance clear of secondary hopper 28. The distance hopper 16 is raised before hopper 28 is lifted can be varied by adjustment of nut 38 along the threaded portion of rod 26.

In operation, power lifter 6 is actuated to project lifter bar 22 so that it engages lift plate 20 and lifts it to elevated position to raise hopper 16 away from base 10. As the hopper 16 'is raised and before it reaches the end of its path of travel, nut 38 engages the underside of flange 35 and lifts hopper 28 as hopper 16 continues to be raised. An empty carton C is then placed in position under the elevated hoppers 16 and 28 and the power lifter is again actuated to cause lowering of lifter bar 22 and disengagement thereof from lift plate 20 to lower hopper 28 into the open top of carton C and nest hopper 16 within hopper 28. The rotary table 8 is then actuated to advance the carton C with hoppers 16 and 28 therein to the next station of the packaging machine.

After the carton C has been loaded with the desired quantity of nails, it is returned to the carton placement station for removal. When the filled carton reaches the carton placement station power lifter 6 is actuated to raise lifter bar 22 after it has been projected into engagement with the underside of lift plate 20. Raising of lift bar 20 causes the hopper 16 to initially rise clear of hopper 28 causing any nails that may have piled up in hopper 16 to be agitated so that they pass freely through hopper 28 into the carton C. Hopper 28 is provided with a larger opening than hopper 16 to insure the free flow of piled-up nails through hopper 28. After hopper 16 is raised clear of hopper 28 the nut 38 on the bottom of lift rod 26 engages the underside of flange 35 to lift hopper 28 clear of carton C during continued raising of hopper 16. Then, after filled carton C is removed an empty carton is put in its place and the packaging cycle is repeated.

When larger size nails, 16d or larger, are being packaged it has been found advantageous to utilize a fininsert 40 in the primary hopper 16 to spread and align the nails as they flow into the carton during filling. As shown in Figure 8, the fin-insert 40 may be removably inserted in primary hopper 16. The fin-insert 40 includes a frame 42 which is dimensioned to be nested into and supportedby the primary hopper 16. Four fin plates 44 are welded or otherwise rigidly connected at their upper ends to the frame 42 in spaced parallel relation to each other. The plates 44 depend from the frame 42 down wardly into the carton C through hopper 28, as shown in Figure 8, after the hopper 28 is lowered into the top of carton C. When the nails are dumped through the fin-insert they are separated and aligned since the space between adjacent plates 44 is less than the length of the nails being packaged. The spacing between plates 44 depends on the size of nails being packaged. Handle 50 may be provided on the inside of frame 42 to facilitate handling of the fin-insert.

Notches 46 and 48 may be provided in the upper edges of the two center plates 44' and 44", respectively, to improve the separating and aligning effect of the fininsert. For optimum results we have found it desirable to pitch the notches in one plate opposite to the notches in the other plate, as shown in Figure 7.

While one embodiment of our invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope ofthe following claims.

1. A two stage container-filler guide apparatus comprising a base adapted to support an open top container, 21 first pair of spaced vertical guide rods projecting upwardly from said base adjacent one side thereof, a sleeve slidably telescoped on each of said rods, a first hopper attached to and supported by said sleeves for vertical movement toward and away from said base, a lift plate extending between and connected with said sleeves at a point intermediate the ends thereof, a second pair of spaced vertical guide rods projecting upwardly from said base spaced from and generally parallel with said first pair, a sleeve slidably telescoped on each of the rods in said second pair, a second hopper adapted to fit into the open top of a container disposed on said base attached to and supported by said last named sleeves for vertical movement toward and away from said base, said second hopper being attached to said last named sleeves by means of a lug projecting laterally from said second hopper, said lug having a center hole therethrough, said first hopper being dimensioned to fit into said second hopper, and lifting means depending from said first hopper adapted to engage said lug to thereby lift said second hopper as said first hopper is being raised after said first hopper has been raised a predetermined distance, said lifting means including a lift rod depending from said first hopper and slidably fitting into the center hole of said lug, and stop means on the lower end of said lift rod adapted to engage the undersurface of said lug.

2. A two stage container-filler guide apparatus as defined by claim 1 characterized by said stop means being adjustable along a portion of the length of said lift rod.

3. A two stage container-filler guide apparatus comprising a base adapted to support an open top container, a first pair of spaced vertical guide rods projecting upwardly from said base adjacent one side thereof, a sleeve slidably telescoped on each of said rods, a first hopper attached to and supported by said sleeves for vertical movement toward and away from said base, a lift plate extending between and connected with said sleeves at a point intermediate the ends thereof, a second pair of spaced vertical guide rods projecting upwardly from said base spaced from and generally parallel with said first pair, a sleeve slidably telescoped on each of the rods in said second pair, a second hopper adapted to fit into the open top of a container disposed on said base attached to and supported by said last named sleeves for vertical movement toward and away from said base, said second hopper being attached to said last named sleeves by means of a lug projecting laterally from said secondhopper, said first hopper being dimensioned to fiit into said second hopper, lifting means depending from said first hopper adapted to engage said lug to thereby lift said second hopper as said first hopper is being raised after said first hopper has been raised a predetermined distance, a fininsert removably telescoped in said first hopper, said fininsert including a plurality of spaced vertical plates attached at their upper ends to a frame, said frame being dimensioned to fit into and be supported by said first hopper, said plates being of such length as to extend substantially to the bottom of said container when said hoppers are in lowered position and said second hopper is disposed in the open top of said container.

4. A two stage container-filler apparatus as defined by claim 3 characterized by at least two adjacent vertical plates of said fin-insert having pitched notches in the top-edges thereof, the notches in one of said adjacent plates being pitched in the direction opposite to the pitch of the notches in the other of said adjacent plates.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS V Schmidt Feb. 26, 1935 

